Why I'm getting nothing done inside this week

The landing for the steps down from our deck has always been a swampy mess, thanks to compacted soil, poor drainage, and lighting that precludes the possibility of lush grass growth. I haven't had the energy to do anything about it ... which is why it looked like this last Thursday:

Thanks to two days of excavation, a truckload of bricks, and me spending every freakin' afternoon this week hunched over and sweating, today it looks like this:

I'm taking total credit for this. I designed it, figured out how much stuff we'd need, ordered it, dug it, tamped it, installed it, sanded it, cut it, redid the part that looked like a sinkhole had opened up under it, and backfilled around it. Jason's involvement was pretty much limited to paying for it, distracting the kid while I worked during the weekend, running a few wheelbarrows full of soil to the pit in the backyard, and watching to make sure I didn't cut off my arm when I was using the masonry saw last night.

Note to self: Masonry saw requires eye protection, ear protection, AND A DUST MASK OR YOU WILL BE SNEEZING BLACK FOR A DAY AND A HALF.

Next step: Painting some old plastic planters in funky colors and sticking some herbs in them, in hopes that they will (survive and) disguise the vents that stick out the back of the house onto my new super-mega-awesomely-incredible patio. And sticking out some grass seed when we get back from the wedding and there's a chance I'll remember to water it everyday (ha!).